I have been struggling in the past few weeks with trying to get back to the basics and return to my original reason for blogging, which was to feature recipes from my families cookbook, The Leverett Delegation: Diva Dishes. We put it together last spring in anticipation of our 2013 Leverett Delegation Family Reunion. I was in charge of getting it published, getting the recipes from my cousins and editing. Despite the long hours and late nights I really enjoyed it. So after it was published I decided that I wanted to try each of the recipes and then blog about them. Boy, have I learned a thing or two since then. I sort of got off track and lost my focus, but from this point forward I am going to try to dedicate at least one post a week to my original idea.

I have been wanting to tell y’all about my Aunt Dorothy. She was the third oldest of eight siblings (five girls and three boys.) Aunt Dorothy was always in the kitchen cooking, when she wasn’t busy waiting tables or helping my Uncle Curtis, who was a policeman by vocation on their side business which was painting houses.

It seemed like we were always at Aunt Dorothy and Uncle Curtis’ house around supper time and there was always what seemed to be a smorgasbord on her table. I finally figured out she would just warm up what was leftover, if anything from the night before to put with whatever she was making that night to stretch it far enough to feed us all.

She always wore an auburn color on her hair and always had it fixed. She was such a beautiful proud, strong woman. In her later years she would take in ironings to make ends meet. It nearly broke my heart to see her fingers gnarled with arthritis, clutching the iron to press jeans and t-shirts for people. But she knew that’s what she had to do to help support her family.

One of my favorite things she used to make is what I call Pot Roast with Potatoes and Carrots. I have changed it up just a little bit and I make mine in a slow cooker, but the idea is purely from my Aunt Dorothy.

Aunt Dorothy would wrap hers up in foil and bake it in the oven, which is a fine way to do it. But, I love to use my slow-cooker. I hope you’ll try this wonderful pot roast recipe and let me know how it works for you.
Feel free to make a copy of this Printable Recipe Card

Give Away Time!

I am excited to be able to share this AWESOME Give-Away opportunity with Y’all! It is being hosted by my friend Allie over at Fabulous Fixes. I’ll let Allie tell y’all all about the Give-Away. Take it away Allie!

I am so excited to bring this giveaway to you guys! I wish I could win it myself because BOY we could use a new mattress! – And this one looks SUPER comfy. This particular mattress that one of you lucky people could win is a Natural Latex and Memory Foam Plush Mattress by Lucid. When you read the description of this mattress, nothing will be able to stop you from wanting to curl up on it and float away on dreams 😉

“This mattress comes with three layers that work
together to bring you optimal comfort in your sleep. First up is the
thin quilted bamboo charcoal memory foam layer. The bamboo charcoal is
especially good for sensitive skin, has better
thermal regulation, and is antimicrobial.

Directly beneath that is a layer featuring our
softer and lighter plush memory foam. The memory foam helps to isolate
motion transfer between sleeping partners. Beneath that is an additional
comfort layer of natural latex. The latex pairs
well with memory foam because its instantaneous give will better
support your body and stop you from bottoming out. We ventilated the
latex comfort layer to allow air flow which will keep you cool and
comfortable while you sleep.

The combination of latex and memory foam provides
optimal orthopedic support and pressure relief to help alleviate neck,
back and shoulder pain.”

Now doesn’t that sound amazing!?!? And, if you’re the winner, you get to choose if you want a King Size or something smaller. (King Size retails at $1999.99). So get to it and enter below!!

Also, Linenspa is offering my readers (you) 30% off everything store-wide. Linenspa sells mattresses, sheets, mattress toppers, pillows and more. Their stuff is really great quality and is being offered to you for a great price. Just use the code MATTRESSGIVEAWAY30 when you check out. Go here to start shopping!

Thanks to Linenspa for hosting this giveaway, and thanks to all the great bloggers helping me promote! Also, I’m sorry, but this giveaway is only open to the Continental United States.

Thanks so much Allie! A New Mattress is always a wonderful thing. Y’all just click on the link that reads “a Rafflecopter giveaway” and you will be taken to the place where you can ENTER TO WIN!
Well, what are you waiting for? You can’t win if you don’t enter. GOOD LUCK!

33.577863-101.855166

Advertisements

Sharing Is Caring! If you like this post, don't keep it a secret. Please Share. Thanks, <3 Kim

Like this:

The idea for these cookies has been rolling around in my head for a few months now. It all started when I was making Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies for my Ham Boys and the Leverett Kids one day when I was babysitting them this past summer. I sort of cooked them (the cookies, not the kids. 🙂 !) a little longer than I should have and they started setting up in the pan. OOPS! I went ahead and spooned the mixture out on the parchment paper but they turned into crumbles. Then I thought to myself “Self, I’d bet these little crumbles would be good in another cookie batter!”

Then I saw this notice on Facebook that there was gonna be a Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap. By sharing cookies with three other bloggers and receiving cookies from three other bloggers. (SCORE, cause y’all know I ❤ Cookies!) I could share a blog post with y’all and a bunch of other people, because that’s what happens when a bunch of bloggers get together. (Score again! Because word of mouth advertising is the best,) and help out the good folks at COOKIES FOR KIDS’ CANCER. (Score again! But for the grace of God go I, Thank You God for healthy kids, grandkids, nieces and nephews.) So, again that little voice inside my head says to me. “Self, I’d bet those little crumbles would be good in those cookies you’re gonna share with those three other bloggers and who knows everyone else might like them too!”

So, I started trying to figure out how to incorporate those little crumbles into a cookie and what if anything else to put into that cookie. I searched recipes (Thank you Pinterest) and decided to make what I dubbed to be Peanut Butter Crumble Cookies. It is a recipe that I adapted very slightly from a recipe written by Michelle @ Flavor Mosaic. I liked that she added hot water with the baking soda to make the cookies thick and chewy. I also liked that she added cream of tartar to give the crackled appearance on top. My version turned out really tasty although for some reason I didn’t achieve the thick and chewy thing so much. But they passed the Cowboy and the Ham boys taste test, so I was pleased.

Now to tell you a little bit about the cookies that we have been blessed with at Our House from the three other bloggers:

The first box I received on Wednesday, November 20th, from Kelly at runningblonde.com, were these salty and sweet

Brown Butter Salted Caramel Cookies.

They were delightful, like the squeal that emitted from my mouth when I first got the box. (You are never too old to squeal with delight, especially if you’re a girlie girl.) Kelly is a Physician/Blogger who just relocated to San Francisco with her husband Pat and their fur baby, Maddie from Madison, WI. They (Kelly and Pat) are honeymooning in Morocco, Spain as I write and I can’t wait to see pictures from that wonderful experience.

The second box I received Friday, November 22, from Heather at bakecreatelove.com. There was another squeal of delight when I discovered the homemade biscotti that were tucked away in a pretty red and green box. They were perfect with our morning coffee and so much better than the store bought Biscotti I’ve tried in the past. The Cowboy had never had Biscotti and has requested that I make some as soon as Heather posts the recipe for her

Chocolate Dipped Caramel Biscotti

Heather is a newlywed as well who lives in Virginia with her Air Force husband Graham. Thank you both for your service to our country! When Graham isn’t deployed he and Heather travel around to different locations in the U.S. and Heather shares about their travels on her blog.

The third and final box came all the way from Honolulu, Hawaii. (Insert more squeals of delight here!) They were baked by Renee @ Awesomeon20.com. Renee is a former English teacher living in paradise who blogs about how live on $20 a day. Her box contained

Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies

These cookies tasted like a Fall day at the fair somewhere in the Midwest rather than somewhere on a Hawaiian island, but we loved the caramel apple gooeyness just the same. I found it a bit ironic that all the cookies contained caramel, but presented in very different ways. I was in COOKIE heaven. I had such fun eating the cookies while sipping a hot cup of coffee and getting on line to learn more about the ladie’s who sent them. I hope you’ll go on by and check out their wonderful blogs.

I’m already looking forward to participating in The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap next year. In the meantime I hope you’ll try my recipes and these printable recipe cards for the Peanut Butter Crumble Cookies and for Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies.

Like this:

Today I am participating in my second Blog Swap Meet. This one features Harvest Recipes from myself and Eleven of my Blogger Friends, just in time for Thanksgiving!.

I am pleased to introduce you to my new friend Kallee from Creative Southern Home. She will be sharing her recipe for Sweet Potato Casserole with you, then be sure to follow me over to Kallee’s place to check out my recipe for Mama’s Lime Delight. So, without any further ado. Here’s Kallee!

Hello everyone, I am Kallee and I blog over at Creative Southern Home and I am excited to be swapping recipes with Kim. I am a proud mother to 4 great children and I adore my husband. I love to blog about recipes, crafts, books, DIY, holidays and fun things to do with the family. I am so excited for Thanksgiving, it is one of my favorite holidays. The kids and I have already put together a list a mile long of all the must have foods we need to make. You can be sure the recipe I am sharing today on Kim’s blog will be on our Thanksgiving Table.

Everyone has that list of dishes that must be on Thanksgiving table or it will not be Thanksgiving. We have to have our cornbread dressing, celery stuffed with cheez whiz, rolls, chess pie and of course sweet potato casserole. My mom has been making this casserole for years. It is wonderful, sweet, crunchy, full of flavor. This recipe has a wonderful streusel like topping with brown sugar and chopped pecans. It would not be Thanksgiving without it.

For the Casserole:

1 40 oz can Sweet Potatoes (Yams), drained

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup melted butter

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

For the Streusel Topping:

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/3 cup butter

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Mix all the ingredients for the casserole, except the topping, together in a large mixing bowl.

Blend well until everything is incorporated (it will be a little lumpy).

Pour this mixture into a greased 2-qt casserole dish.

Prepare the topping mixture by mixing together the sugar, flour, cinnamon & nutmeg in a medium bowl.

Add the butter in chunks.

Cut the butter in until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Add the nuts and mix.

Sprinkle evenly over top of the casserole.

Bake at 350 F for 40-45 minutes

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Recipe Card

Thanks so much Kallee, that Sweet Potato Casserole sounds really delicious. I’m so happy you stopped by M2G today to share and I hope you’ll come back soon!

There are 12 Awesome Bloggers total participating in this Harvest Swap Meet. I hope you’ll stop by to visit them all and see the wonderful dishes they’ve prepared for you.

Below the collage are links to all of the posts that participated in our Blog Swap Meet: Harvest Recipes!

P.S. May I ask a favor? Would you follow me on Pinterest or like me onFacebook? It’s a great way to stay in touch and I always follow back!
Or use one of these buttons to Share this article with a friend!

33.577863-101.855166

Advertisements

Sharing Is Caring! If you like this post, don't keep it a secret. Please Share. Thanks, <3 Kim

Like this:

Everyone is concerned about what to do with leftover turkey after Thanksgiving as well they should be. However, we usually have both Turkey and Ham. So today I’m sharing a recipe for you to use that leftover Ham.

We have been buying ham steaks that come in a package of four at Sam’s Club. We can usually get at least two sometimes three good meals out of one ham steak. Yesterday for instance I made my version of those little egg sandwiches served on English muffins that are served at the restaurant whose name starts with Mc and ends with d’s. Then for supper last night I made some breakfast burritos with diced ham, potatoes and onions, and eggs.

Tonight the Cowboy and I put a turkey in the oven for lunch tomorrow and then to make casseroles and soup out of for other meals. They’ve had Honeysuckle turkeys on sale at our Market Street the last few weeks for .77 a pound. That’s cheap protein y’all.

I had planned to invite my daughter Aimee, her husband Josh and the Ham Boys for lunch tomorrow but we are in the middle of our first Arctic Blast of the season and the Weather Outside is Frightful! Plus, even though the laminate flooring in our living room and dining room is installed, the trim work needs to be done. So we won’t have furniture in the living room and dining room until my brother comes to finish that. Sorry I forgot to mention the flooring debacle before now, I’ve posted about it on enough on Facebook and this is supposed to be a happy place where happy thoughts alone are shared. 😉 Sooooo, having anyone over to eat would result in them having to dine on the floor or sitting on my bed. No. Thank You! LOL Hopefully it will all be over soon and I can start entertaining and getting my Christmas décor up and so on and so forth.

Sorry back to my story. After we got the turkey in the oven for tomorrow, we sat here for awhile and the Cowboy asks me “What’s for Supper?” I hadn’t given it any thought. I knew I had leftover home fried potatoes from the breakfast burritos and I had a ham steak thawed out. There were mushrooms, celery, bell pepper and onion in the fridge. I decided that I was going to make something out of those. That’s how my Ham and Potato Hash was born.

I had the Rosemary and Thyme out for the turkey and decided to include them in my hash. I just love cooking with herbs and spices. This was a quick and easy way to use up some leftovers and incorporate veggies into our meal. I think it would even be good to add in some scrambled egg and serve on flour tortillas, but tonight we had it with toast. I hope you’ll try this recipe soon and come back to let me know how it worked for you.

Always,

Here’s a Free Printable Recipe Card for you to take and enjoy!Simply click on the card to be taken to another page where you can print or save the recipe card to your computer.P.S. May I ask a favor? Would you follow me on Pinterest or like me onFacebook? It’s a great way to stay in touch and I always follow back!
Or use one of these buttons to Share this article with a friend!